Moonlight Waltz
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day five hundred and ninety-six: He knows there are some dreams he can only live with her in a dream itself.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 28th cycle. Now cycle 29!_

**TOP 16, TAKE 2: **_Okay so a couple cycles back, I did my second 'top of Glee at the moment' cycle. Now since I was still in university and such at the time, those were planned a while back, before the second half of the season every started. This made it that by the time that cycle rolled around I realized that some things had changed... Things were added, removed, bumped up... Point is it didn't really reflect where I was anymore. So I decided 'what the heck, I'll do another one ASAP!' And so here we are :) This is my revised Top 16 (of course I HAD to plan before the finale, so there are still a couple things missing like Samcedes, Unholy Trinity, etc, but let's assume they're there ;) They'll get some love in coming cycles ;)) So off we go!  
><strong>Coming in at number eleven...<strong>_

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><p><strong>"Moonlight Waltz"<br>Artie/Brittany **

Brittany would come by every so often, when he wanted to work on using the Re-Walk. He would tire out after a while, and she liked to be there to keep him company. Once he stopped, she would help him out of the contraption and carry him to lie on his bed before lying down next to him. They would just lie there and talk about… anything that came to mind. Eventually this led to Brittany coming to something of a realization, as they laid there, shoeless, side by side…

"We're almost the same height," she declared, and he looked at her before taking in the observation she had, looking at their feet, then back at her face.

"Yeah, I guess we are…" he agreed. "I never noticed… But then how could I, right?" he kept on looking at her… Lying right there, he could get hypnotized by those eyes of hers.

"What's that trick though, about the space between your fingers, or the length of your arm or something…" she demonstrated both and he reached up to pull her hand back down.

"I-It's okay, I get it," he promised her, and she nodded, then smiled at how he still held on to her hand.

They remained like this for a while longer, until she had to go home. The day went on, but he couldn't forget about that afternoon, lying side by side… He didn't know what it was about the heights thing that really stuck with him. But then that night, as he fell asleep, his dreams worked it out for him… thoughts of what they could never have…

He just remembered all of a sudden standing at the bottom of a staircase… massive and rich-looking, like a ballroom or a castle even. It was dark, outside the windows, but there was just enough light inside, enough that he could see he was wearing a tux, bow tie and all… and he was standing, no wheelchair, no Re-Walk, just the power of his own two feet.

Everything was quiet, and both as dreamer and dream self he had no idea what he was waiting for, except… he felt a chill, a tingle, something that told him turn and look behind himself, up the stairs. There she was… Brittany… Oh, she didn't need the light, she shined so bright right then. He wasn't too familiar on shades of blue, but whatever one this was, he would just call the color of her dress "Brittany's Eyes Blue." It sparkled in places and the skirt of it… He didn't know how she didn't trip, but she walked down those stairs without a hitch, and she placed her hand in his when he offered it.

"Hi…" he spoke, unsure if he could even say anything else.

"Hi," she repeated, smiling. They didn't need more words. He guided her down the rest of the steps, and then they were on the dance floor, as the music began. He spun her around once, and then they found themselves in a dance hold, staring into each other's eyes… and all of a sudden it was like he was both on that floor, with her, dancing, but also standing to the side, singing, as the pair of them began to glide along like they'd done this dance all their lives.

_[A] "You're in my arms / And all the world is calm / The music playing on / For only two / So close together / And when I'm with you / So close to feeling alive"_

He'd forget the ballroom, the castle… He'd forget the stairs, the lights, the night out of those windows… He'd forget them all but he couldn't forget her, the way she looked… at him… He knew dreams had a way of escaping you the moment you tried to remember them, but there was just no way he could lose this one, it was just…

To be told that any of this could ever be possible, that she would stand by his side, be it in real life with his wheelchair, or in the dream now… dancing… Maybe it sounded like he didn't think much of himself, but it wasn't even that… It was just something you got to know, in a place like McKinley High. You knew who you were, and who this position supposedly presented you with as your options. She had gone and just jumped right over that barrier, and she'd found him…

_[A] "A life goes by / Romantic dreams must die / So I bid mine goodbye / And never knew / So close was waiting / Waiting here with you / And now, forever, I know / All that I wanted to hold you / So close"_

He would spin her, the light hitting the sparkles of the dress spinning with her, and it would have seemed like they were flying around that floor. It was easy, having it all to themselves. She'd come back into the hold, and every time she did, in his mind, he would think of them, lying on his bed, the only time when they were this close to a dance… when they could see their being almost the same height.

_[A] "So close to reaching / That famous happy end / Almost believing / This one's not pretend / Now you're beside me / And look how far we've come / So far / We are / So close "_

He didn't want the dream to end. Even still being in it, he understood that eventually it would have to stop, but… he just wanted to stay right there, as he was, dancing with her… He knew it wasn't real, he knew that he could never dance with her or anyone, but… he could at least have his dreams… his delusions… He could still tell himself there was a place where crazy, impossible things could happen.

_[A] "Oh, how could I face the faceless days / If I should lose you now?"_

And if he could believe that, then anything was possible, right? Maybe not the endless dream, but him and Brittany… They could make it work, couldn't they? He knew there were those who would think the opposite, but he didn't care, not now, not while they were dancing… And dance they did…

_[A] "We're so close to reaching / That famous happy end / Almost believing / This one's not pretend / Let's go on dreaming / Though we know we are / So close / So close, and still / So far"_

He knew it was a dream, but he swore he could feel her like she was right there in his arms as the song ended, once again in the silence of the room. He could see into her eyes, feel her hand in his, feel her breathing as well as his own… her heartbeat and his own…

"Another one?" he asked, indicating the dance floor. She smiled and…

The sun was too bright in his eyes, and he reached his hand to cover his eyes… his hand, the one that had been holding hers just a moment ago… only it wasn't, not really. He frowned, realizing he'd woken up. At least it was a school day; he would see her again before long. But even then, school or not, he could still close his eyes and he'd see her, in the dress that sparkled with the color her eyes.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******

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><p><strong><strong><strong>PS: I'm going to work to find a way to make a list available of the various series, I just need to find a way to make the link available, since this site seems to have an issue with putting links to stuff ;)<strong>****


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